I was just fooling around tonight on the site and just realized we could see who was "online" at any moment. It got me thinking - I think it would be GREAT to have some sort of "Chatroom Tab" - kind of like the "Forums Tab," there could be different Chatrooms for different topics. I've learned so much from everyone on this site - but you always have to WAIT for a response….not that i'm impatient, and i really have no complaints, but wouldn't it be kind of nice to have some live chats? Maybe this would create too many problems for Martin that I'm not aware of.
It might also be nice to have some sort of instant messaging. if you see one of your "buddies" online, you can talk live with them through an instant message. maybe in our profile we could turn this function on or off so people can or cannot message us, etc…
anyways..just a thought. I feel connected (in a way) to a lot of guys/gals here…I think this community could grow even more with some sort of live chat/messaging. Not only would the community grow (closer) but the site itself could become way more popular. what other DIY/woodworking site has live chats?
As an after thought - for people who wished, maybe there could be volunteer "counselors" or "teachers" that excel in a certain area or topic of woodworking., and they could volunteer some time to be IN the chatroom for live questions answering, etc - like the Woodwhisperer, or anyone else qualified to do so…. maybe on the site calender, people could set up a date and time they will be in a room to teach or whatever…and people could sign up, or just join.
Actually we have had a chatroom in place for some time now. Marius purchased a 1 year term for LJ members to use back in late January or early February of this year. Here is the link.
I come in and play on the website when I am taking a break. If I started chatting, I would get hung up and not spend as much time playing in the garage making stuff. I would suspect that many other people are the same way. I also think that the delay creates more thoughtful responses.
Not saying it would be a bad thing, I just don't think that there would be so many that would want yet another chat option over the number that are already available.
I think what the original post was asking for was an instant messaging type of feature such as the one in Facebook. I think a site-wide chat room/instant message board would be too overwhelming given the size of LJ.
aurora, That is what I was thinking - one kind of like facebook - so when you see one of your "buddies" online you can live chat with them. But I really think a couple of chatrooms (set up like forums - different chatrooms for different topics) would be great. Even though there are 20,000 lumberjocks now, no more than 100-200 are on at any given time. (like right now, i just checked, there are only 53 online) So i don't think a chatroom would be overwhelming for this site. A great way would be some sort of system where members could ask Martin to place a TIME and DATE of when they were going to discuss a topic, and then post it on the EVENTS calender. A great example would be "andy's boxes." Lets say Andy was (most likely IS) getting tons of questions on his boxes, well he could set up a time/date to be in a chatroom to answer questions (if he so chose to do so)...anyways..just a thought…..
Never seems to be anyone there when i look i think if we had a tab on the home page maybe more people would use it as for a set time that doesn't need to be done as we all have different time lines as to when we log on to LJs
doesnt seem like many people want this, and I really dont know why. Lot of people arent getting what i'm saying (or trying to say). Pommy - not ALL chatrooms would have to have a set time…what i'm saying is the option of having a "meeting" with a set date/time would be really awesome. people with the same interest could then "meet" there and discuss things, etc, etc….like i said, the possibilities are endless.
" doesnt seem like many people want this, (Probably True) and I really dont know why. ( Not much I can say about that.) Lot of people arent getting what i'm saying (or trying to say). ( I think we are. It's not diffult to read and understand) "people would definitely use it." ( That's your Personal opinion. I wouldn't.)
Personally, Chat Rooms aren't my Favorite Place. I can find MORE than enough to do on here now and never have enough time to do it all. I come on here whenever I have the time and feel like being here. I'm now at about 2 hours and still haven't done all that I want to do. A "Set Time" to "Chat" is not something I would want to adhere to.
I always find people with the same interests just by going through the Blogs, Reviews and Multi Forums and Responding to the ones that I choose to. That's MY way of Chatting.
I also use the PM Mode if I want to communicate on a more Personal level in PRIVATE. That may also lead to the exchange of Personal Email Addresses and Communication Outside of LJ's.
We also have the Technical Aspects of setting that all up. I think this Site is Incredibly Responsive as it presently is. However Martin is the only one that can make the decision about the NEED for a Chat Room.
Please excuse me if this sounds a little to "Straight Forward". Naturally all of the above is MY Opinion only and if Others choose to Agree or Disagree it is Certainly their Privilege to do so.
We had scheduled chats in the past. Here are the transcripts. I'd like to try them again in the future but I will have to resolve time and technical constraints first.
Facebook style chat bar is on my list too. We should be testing it later this year.
I am for a chat room. It would be nice to jump in there and ask a simple question or get someone's opinion real quick. I do believe that if it were easily accesable, like in the tabs at the top of the page more people would definately use it. The other chatroom was a great idea and I hate that it hasn't taken off. Sounds like alot of people had no idea about it, I know I didn't.
I think a chat room would be good, some poeple may not enjoy a chat room, but there are still forums for people who prefer to stay in the forums. I would still read the forums nearly everyday like I do, the chat room would just be something unique and fun.
I think that is great Martin! I play the ukulele and one of my favorite sites for learning new songs is ukuleleunderground. they have actual live video lessons (with live chat included) where there is a "teacher" and they discuss in the chatroom what they would like to learn that day, and then he teaches it.
not saying that format should/could be used here…but I think something like that could definitely be utilized especially if there was an "announcement" of the new chat/meeting place etc. Love the site!! definitely have no complaints, can't wait to see where this site goes from here. Thanks for all your hard work, martin
Doug
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